California prisons fail to stop guards from sexually abusing women, Justice Department finds

California prisons fail to stop guards from sexually abusing women, Justice Department finds 1 of 3 | Exterior views of the California-womens-facility" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="184907" data-entity-type="location">Central California Women’s Facility prison in Chowchilla, Calif., on June 25, 2026. (Dan Hernandez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, file) 2 of 3 | Former Trump campaign lawyer Harmeet Dhillon appears at a House Committee on House Administration hearing on “American Confidence in Elections: Protecting Political Speech” on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, file) 3 of 3 | Bill Essayli, acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file) By SAFIYAH RIDDLE Updated 8:46 PM MESZ, August 13, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Los Angeles (AP) — California ‘s prison system has systematically failed to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by guards, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday. The federal investigation also found that California’s corrections department failed to provide victims with a safe way to report sexual abuse and harassment without retaliation. On top of that, staff who were tasked with investigating the misconduct were often themselves accused of sexual abuse or harassment. The investigation, which began during the Biden administration, focused on two state prisons: the California-womens-facility" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="184907" data-entity-type="location">Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California-institution-for-women" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="124660" data-entity-type="location">California Institution for Women in Chino. It uncovered numerous instances where guards regularly sexually abused incarcerated women. In at least one instance, a guard was convicted of rampant abuse over roughly a decade and sentenced to 224 years in prison. The AP is committed to delivering independent news coverage from all corners of the globe. By creating a free account, you help us understand our readers and strengthen our journalism. Create a free account Sign in to existing account How we use your information Help with registration Continue without registering The California-department-of-corrections-and-rehabilitation" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="184908" data-entity-type="organization">California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not respond to an email seeking comment. Women were told to report misconduct on an online system that wasn’t confidential and that the accused officers had access to, according to Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Dhillon said that women are “fully aware of this gap in confidentiality, and this serves as a deterrent from women reporting this misconduct.” She named at least one sergeant whose job it was to investigate misconduct who was himself sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to receiving child sexual abuse images on the job. Weill Cornell Medicine deal to boost sexual abuse prevention ends criminal investigation 4 MIN READ Investigation revealed ‘devastating’ reports of sexual misconduct at school supported by Epstein 1 MIN READ Ex-captain pleads guilty to drugging and raping a US Merchant Marine Academy cadet on a cargo ship 1 MIN READ “The upshot of our investigation is that California’s prison system, when it comes to women, has inadequate systems in place to deter, detect, and hold accountable rampant sexual misconduct and assault on female prisoners,” Dhillon said at a news conference held in Los Angeles on Thursday. The Associated Press in previous years exposed similar patterns of rampant abuse by federal prison staff against women held in Dublin, California, a facility that at the time was nicknamed the “rape club.” The prison was closed following the AP investigation. The federal government on Thursday gave California’s prison system 49 days to remediate the conditions that enabled the rampant abuse, warning that a failure to do so could result in civil litigation. The measures include expanded camera coverage, enhanced confidential reporting channels and strengthened investigative protocol. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who was appointed by President Donald Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said California has to take action. “The State must confront the persistent failure of its own employees to prevent and address sexual abuse at these facilities,” Essayli wrote in a statement, “and the systemic breakdowns that have permitted these conditions to persist.” SAFIYAH RIDDLE Riddle is a national law enforcement reporter based in Los Angeles, California. mailto